Audio-Animatronics
Audio-Animatronics are creations of Walt Disney and his Imagineers. Audio-Animatronics are essentially robots controlled by radio and/or cables in the floor. The robots are designed to look like real animals and humans, allowing them to have startlingly lifelike movements. They can sit and stand but cannot walk. An Audio-Animatron is different from an android-type robot in that it uses prerecorded movements and sounds, rather than responding to external stimuli. In 2009, Disney created an interactive version of the technology called Autonomatronics. History Audio-Animatronics were originally a creation of Walt Disney employee Lee Adams, who worked as an electrician at the Burbank studio and was one of Disney's original Imagineers. One of the first Disney Audio-Animatrons was a toy bird Walt Disney got in New Orleans. It was a simple mechanical bird, and Walt decided to improve the device that moved it. Another was a "dancing man", created by Roger Broggie and Wathel Rogers. The term "Audio-Animatronics" was first used commercially by Disney in 1961, was filed as a trademark in 1964, and was registered in 1967. Perhaps the most impressive of the early Audio-Animatronics efforts was The Enchanted Tiki Room, which opened in 1963 at Disneyland. It was (and still is) a room full of tropical creatures with eye and facial actions synchronized to a musical score entirely by electromechanical means. The "cast" of the musical revue uses tones recorded on tape to vibrate a metal reed that closes a circuit to trigger a relay, which sends a pulse of electricity to a mechanism that causes a pneumatic valve to move part of the figure. Reportedly, when the Tiki Room opened, Walt placed a talking bird outside the attraction. But he soon had to have it taken down, as people were so amazed and distracted by the bird that the line moved too slowly. The movements of the attraction's birds, flowers, and tiki idols are triggered by sound. Figures' movements have a neutral "natural resting position" that the limb or part returns to when there is no electric pulse present. Other than this, the animation is a digital system, with only on/off moves, such as an open or closed eye. Other early Audio-Animatrons were at the 1964 New York World's Fair. They were used in the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln exhibit at the State of Illinois Pavilion, Pepsi/UNICEF's "It's a Small World" exhibit, General Electric's Carousel of Progress, and Ford Motor Company's "Magic Skyway." Technology Pneumatic actuators were not powerful enough to move heavier objects like simulated limbs, so hydraulics were used for large figures. On/off type movement would cause an arm to be lifted (for example) either up over an animatron's head or down next to its body, but with no halting or change of speed in between. To create more realistic movement in large figures, an analog system was used. This gave the figures' body parts a full range of fluid motion, rather than only two positions. The digital system was used with small pneumatic moving limbs (eyelids, beaks, fingers), and the analog system was used for large hydraulic human or animal moving limbs (arms, heads). To permit a high degree of freedom, the control cylinders resemble typical miniature pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders, but mount the back of the cylinder on a ball joint and threaded rod. This ball joint permits the cylinders to float freely inside the frame, such as when the wrist joint rotates and flexes. Disney's technology is not infallible however; the oil-filled cylinders do occasionally drip or leak. It is sometimes necessary to do makeup touch-up work, or to strip the clothing off a figure due to leaking fluids inside. The Tiki Room remains a pneumatic theatrical set, primarily due to the leakage concerns; Disney does not want hydraulic fluids dripping down onto the audience during a show. Because each individual cylinder requires its own control channel, the original Audio-Animatronic figures were relatively simple in design, to reduce the number of channels required. For example, the first human designs (referred to internally by Disney as series A-1) included all four fingers of the hand as one actuator. It could wave its hand but it couldn't grasp or point at something. With modern digital computers controlling the device, the number of channels is virtually unlimited, allowing more complex, realistic motion. The current versions (series A-100) now have individual actuators for each finger. Compliance Compliance is a new technology that allows faster, more realistic movements without sacrificing control. In the older figures, a fast limb movement would cause the entire figure to shake in an unnatural way. The Imagineers thus had to program slower movements, sacrificing speed in order to gain control. This was frustrating for the animators, who, in many cases, wanted faster movements. Compliance improves this situation by allowing limbs to continue past the points where they are programmed to stop; they then return quickly to the "intended" position, much as real organic body parts do. The various elements also slow to a stop at their various positions, instead of using the immediate stops that caused the unwanted shaking. This absorbs shock, much like the shock absorbers on a car or the natural shock absorption in a living body. Cosmetics The skin of an Audio-Animatronic is made from silicone rubber. Because the neck is so much narrower than the rest of the skull, the skull skin cover has a zipper up the back to permit easy removal. The facial appearance is painted onto the rubber, and standard cosmetic makeup is also used. Over time, the flexing causes the paint to loosen and fall off, so occasional makeup work and repainting is required. Generally as the rubber skin flexes, the stress causes it to dry and begin to crack. Figures that do not have a high degree of motion flexibility (such as the older A-1 series Lincoln) may only need the skin to be replaced every ten years. The most recent A-100 series human AAs (such as for Barack Obama) also include flexion actuators that move the cheeks and eyebrows to permit more realistic expressions, but the skin wears out more quickly and needs replacement at least every five years. The wig on each human AA is made from natural human hair for the highest degree of realism, but using real hair creates its own problems, since the changing humidity and constant rapid motions of the moving AA carriage hardware throughout the day cause the hair to slowly lose its styling, requiring touch-ups before each day's showing. Autonomatronics Autonomatronics is a registered trademark for a more advanced Audio-Animatronic technology, also created by Walt Disney Imagineers. The original Audio-Animatrons used hydraulics to operate robotic figures to present a pre-programmed show. This more sophisticated technology can include cameras and other sensors feeding signals to a high-speed computer which processes the information and makes choices about what to say and do. Disney created "Otto", the first interactive figure that can hear, see, and sense actions in the room. Otto can hold conversations and react to the audience. In December 2009, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln returned to Disneyland using the new Autonomatronics technology. Variations The technology of the AAs at Disney's theme parks around the world vary in their sophistication. They range from the blinking and mouth movements at Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room to full body movement, from the mouth to the tip of the fingers at Stitch's Great Escape! at the Magic Kingdom. Current technologies have paved the way for more elaborate AA figures, such as the "Ursula head" inside the Mermaid Lagoon Theater at Tokyo DisneySea, the Indiana Jones figures inside the Indiana Jones attractions at both Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, the "swordfighting" pirates insidePirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland Park (Paris), the "lava/rock monster" inside Journey to the Center of the Earth at Tokyo DisneySea, the dinosaurs inside DINOSAUR and the "Yeti " inside Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom, or the Roz figure inside Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! at Disney California Adventure Park. The Roz figure is able to "interact" with guests with help from an unseen ride operator who chooses pre-recorded messages for Roz to "speak", thereby seeming to "react" to individual guests' unique appearances and clothing. Mr. Potato Head outside of the Toy Story Mania! attractions at the Disney California Adventure and Disney's Hollywood Studios parks does the same as Roz does. One of the newest figures comes with changes to the classic Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, both now featuring characters from the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. The Jack Sparrow figure is based on the actor that portrays him, Johnny Depp, even featuring his voice and facial mold. So far, the newest and most advanced Audio-Animatronic figure is Abraham Lincoln at The Disneyland Story: Featuring Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland. Lincoln can move his lips to form words, can make very dramatic movements, and can portray emotions to match the words he's saying. The Audio-Animatronic Indiana Jones figures inside Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Crystal Skull at Tokyo DisneySea resemble actor Harrison Ford, unlike the original figures found at the Disneyland version, Temple of the Forbidden Eye. In 2010, some of the Audio-Animatronic figures at the Disneyland version were replaced with more technically advanced figures that also look more like Ford. However, neither version features Harrison Ford's actual voice. Gallery Enchanted Tiki Room and Walt Disney 2.jpg|Walt Disney in The Enchanted Tiki Room, the first Disneyland attraction to use Audio-Animatronics. AbeL.jpg|The original Abraham Lincoln audio-animatronics figure, as seen on display at the 2009 D23 Expo. Mps.jpg|Mary Poppins singing to an AA bird, one that could be seen in the original World's Fair version of the Carousel of Progress 2278915498 145385c8c4.jpg|Casablanca AAs from The Great Movie Ride 3412433128 a00f0b4f14.jpg|Mary Poppins and Bert AAs in The Great Movie Ride 3109814588 907c3e40aa.jpg|The Swamp Boys AAs in Splash Mountain 2542049060 766d584901.jpg|Br'er Fox AA in Splash Mountain 2517044599 9410aaf4e4.jpg|Br'er Fox and Br'er Rabbit AAs in Splash Mountain. Zipadeelady.jpg.jpg|The finale of Splash Mountain. Mr-potatohead-toy-story-picture-001.jpg|Mr. Potato Head advanced AA in Toy Story Mania. Ariel Under the Sea 4.PNG|Ariel AA in Ariel's Undersea Adventure. Womcave1.jpg|AA cavemen from World of Motion. Wom used chariot salesman.jpg|Used chariot salesmen and other Roman AAs from World of Motion Dreamfinder-web.jpg|The Dreamfinder AA from Journey Into Imagination. Figment dressup.png|Figment AA from Journey Into Imagination General Electric Carousel of Progress 1972.jpg|The Carousel of Progress in 1972. CountryBearJamboreeBears.jpg|The Five Bear Rugs from the Country Bear Jamboree Jackhiding.jpg|Jack Sparrow AA in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Ride Saltosaurus.jpg|AA Saltosaurus in the ride DINOSAUR. 2478845401 ce3fbd1617.jpg|Lucky the dinosaur, the first free-roving and interactive AA. Muppet Mobile Lab at Epcot.jpg|The Muppet Mobile Lab, the second interactive and free-roving AA attraction. Flight-of-Passage-Na'Vi-AA.jpg|An Avatar audio-animatronic floating in the container. Videos Audio-Animatronics External links *DizTech: The Disney Technology Blog *Autonomatronics at Disney Parks Blog See also * List of attractions featuring Audio-Animatronics * Athena (Tomorrowland) Category:Walt Disney Imagineering Category:Disney parks and attractions Category:Disney technology